The demand for blood to save lives is ever increasing especially among the population of children and pregnant women.

Am sure you might have been required to donate blood when your sister or wife was pregnant and approaching delivery or your loved one was sick or scheduled for surgery.

The whole point with that requirement is to ensure there is blood available to transfuse the woman, the baby, your loved one or any other person when they loss appreciable amount of blood to save their lives.

Despite this requirement, there is still a national blood deficit. How can we contribute to surmounting this deficit? Do we all need to play a role in this? The truth is that we all need to part of the solution. And the solution is donating blood to support the national blood bank. We may not be the direct beneficiary, our loved ones may or someone we don’t even know may benefit from our donation. That is a sense of commitment to the lives of other people.
As part of efforts to contribute to solving the blood deficit and to show our sense of commitment to the lives of other people, Proffer Aid International Foundation, is leading the various youth groups in the Ayawaso District and its environs in a blood project scheduled for February 14 of this year.

The blood project which is dubbed Blood for Yaro (Blood for the Child) is jointly organized by the Greater Accra Regional Hospital to support selected Children and Maternity Wards.

According to the Organizers, the project was informed by a research which shows that 50 percent of maternal mortalities recorded in Accra are as a result of blood deficit.

The blood donation project is scheduled to take place at the Forecourt of the Nima Maamobi Community Library off the Kanda Highway.

In an interview with a representative of the PAIF Team, Benia J. Pius noted that “despite the problems accounting for the blood deficit in the country, the youths in the Ayawaso district are converging at the forecourt of Nima Maamobi Community Library to support Blood for Yaro Project through voluntary donation of blood to save a life and alleviate the blood deficit in the country which in most cases goes against children and pregnant women in labor”.

He also noted that, “the youth groups have adopted the project because some of them or their loved ones have been in the position of needing blood and due to the unavailable had to travel long distance just to get blood for transfusion. And they identify with equal measure the discomfort of others and the pain people experience when they loss their loved one as a result of unavailability of blood”. According to Pius, the collective message from the youth groups is that “we are not health personnel but we believe we can also save life through voluntary donation of blood. We are more concern about the impact the units of blood would make in the lives of others”.

Head of blood service of Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Mr. Roger Kudjo noted that “we all can be part of the blood deficit solution through voluntary donation”.

We need a collective effort in dealing with the blood deficit. Corporate bodies have a role of supporting with donor packages. The media has a role of creating the awareness of the need for voluntary donation.

Religious institutions and individuals have a role of coming together for voluntary donation. Considering the fact that blood cannot be manufactured but donated to save lives, let us all come on board to support and donate blood. Blood saves Life! Your Blood can save a life! Donate blood for the pregnant woman! Donate blood for the Child!